Mesanovic Microphones is a somewhat newer company from Detroit, eponymously named for its founder, Deni Mesanovic, who built and designed his first ribbon mic for his senior thesis in college. In the decade since, the company has also added to its line of microphones two models of 3-way active...
Growing up, Tom Petty was always part of my life’s soundtrack. Into adulthood (especially when the Wildflowers LP came out), I began to appreciate his music more; the deceptively simple arrangements, awesome harmonies, and catchy hooks. Many of those catchy hooks were courtesy of Tom’s longtime...
Raise your hand if you've spent a considerable amount of time memorizing, or at least creating, your own personalized cheat sheet that catalogs the vast number of keyboard shortcuts for your DAW software of choice. I've had to do it twice: First when learning Steinberg’s Cubase [Tape...
When Placid Audio released their debut Copperphone [Tape Op#42] in 2003, it seemed destined to become a future classic. I have since seen them on concert stages and in studios, and in front of Jack White [#82], Norah Jones, and other notable artists. The success of the original Copperphone enabled...
Many words have been written over the years in Tape Op about the pros and cons of analog and digital recording. Based on the VU meter pictograph on the cover of Analog by Robert Hassan, you might think you would find more discussion on that topic, but you would be wrong. Though there is some...
The 1U rack-mount Universal Audio Volt 876 audio interface is on the bench! The larger cousin to the rest of the affordable Volt interface range, the 876 brings quite a bit of additional fit and function to the family. Notably, the 876 can be used as an ADAT expansion unit and features completely...
Universal Audio’s free DAW, LUNA, has a major update that just cleared the launchpad – LUNA 2.0 for both macOS and PC. It includes ARA 2 support, AI-infused instrument detection, and, if you own or purchase the LUNA Pro upgrade, a total of 29 UAD plug-ins, some new third-party ARA and MIDI effects...
For the past two decades, Rupert Neve Designs has delivered a steady stream of innovative and powerful analog audio processors, including the Master Buss Processor [Tape Op#89], the Master Bus Transformer, and the Shelford, Newton, and Portico series. Naturally, my interest was piqued when I heard...
What’s the best kind of microphone for recording electric guitar? On first glance, this seems like a straightforward question, but dig in a bit and notice the layers of sedimentation. The pat answer is that you position a Shure SM57 or other dynamic mic on the grill cloth, pointed on or near the...
Drum machines have defined and redefined several genres of popular music for nearly five decades. Many of the most recognizable electronic drum sounds originated in analog units manufactured by Roland in Hamamatsu, Japan. After six years of building pre-programmed models designed to accompany organ...
There has been a lot of talk lately about how music streaming platforms, such as Spotify, change the way we listen to and engage with music. As a sound engineer, it’s disappointing when the music I’ve worked on ends up sounding worse after it gets uploaded to Spotify. Their compression algorithms –...
Joe Orlandi did not intend to build microphones when he retired from his 20-year career in the film industry. He started collecting musical instruments and building a commercial recording studio in his quiet corner of Ohio. His focus began to shift when he unwittingly bought a knock-off of a...
ARC ON·EAR is a hybrid headphone amp/DAC with built-in EQ correction for popular professional headphones. Like most audio workers, I do a ton of work while wearing headphones. Spending hours a day critically listening in headphones is a big part of my job. Whether I’m using the old Apple EarPods or...
It’s always exciting when a company comes out with a plug-in that does something different and rethinks how we use some of our most fundamental tools. Eventide did exactly that with their new reverb, Temperance Pro. Loading up Temperance Pro into a DAW, it’s immediately apparent that it isn’t a...
Hey, did you hear that Cranborne Audio just dropped its first compressor? Every single unit this company designs is filled with so much amazing outside-the-box thinking. It’s inspiring. I’ve read about pulse width modulation compressors before, like the Great River PWM-501 [Tape Op #102] or the...
The quick, five-word review: think Velcro, but not shitty. Okay, a few more words for the modern miracle of Dual Lock: I found this super-strong, reclosable/reusable fastening tape suggested on a few stompbox pedalboard forums, gave it a try, and have since become a little obsessed. Backed with an...
Solid State Logic was founded in 1969 to manufacture solid-state control systems for organs. They began building consoles with automation in the mid-1970s, when none were available. They were originally known for their large-format mixing consoles, but currently they offer a remarkable variety of...
Incorporating guitar pedals into studio workflows has become increasingly popular lately. I’ve seen everyone from Walrus Audio collaborating with Aaron Sterling to Chandler offering inserts specifically for guitar pedals in their new REDD Mixing System. Needless to say, everyone’s quickly catching...